Members of the Gulf Coast Violent Offender's Task Force took Webster into custody sometime Thursday morning, according to the Houston Police Department. Police did not release details about the arrest.

Herbert's body was found in an alley along the 1000 block of Prairie. Houston police said she appeared to have been strangled and beaten to death with a piece of concrete found near her body.

She had been sexually assaulted, Houston police said.

HPD homicide detectives found a handprint on a pipe near Herbert's body that would later prove crucial in clearing the cold case with the murder charge against Webster, authorities said.

According to the criminal complaint filed against him, Webster was identified early as a potential suspect after evidence found under Herbert's fingernails was linked to him.

He has a criminal record in Harris County going back to 2001 with convictions for charges including drug possession, armed robbery and sexual assault, according to court records.

Detectives later questioned Webster while he was an inmate in the Texas prison system. He admitted having sex with prostitutes in the downtown Houston area and might have been with Herbert at some point but couldn't remember a specific time. But he denied playing any part in her death.

The handprint wasn't much help at first because the prints then on file for Webster weren't good enough for a match, police said. He was arrested in Harris County at least six times since Hebert's death, giving experts additional prints to compare.